Sentencing, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC said it was not in society's best interests to lock Edwards up, and instead insisted he take part in an "enhanced thinking skills programme" with the probation service.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that Edwards and his friend, Jonathan Mantle, also 21, broke into a house in Lewis Street, Blackwood, following a night of drinking on April 24 of this year.

After being scared away by the occupant Mantle was caught hiding in a nearby bush. Edwards managed to flee, but only after taking a bite of a pear in the house.

The court heard the half-eaten fruit was later sent off to a laboratory for DNA analysis which proved Edwards had been in the house with Mantle.

Mantle, of Blackwood, who has 17 previous convictions for burglary, was sentenced to two and a half years' imprisonment last week after pleading guilty to his part in the crime, the Telegraph Newspaper reports.